Research Review
Learning in a PBL course may initially reduce levels of learning (this may be due to the difficulty in determining what students learned using traditional competence measures), but fosters, over periods up to several years, increased retention of knowledge; some preliminary evidence suggests that PBL curricula may enhance both transfer of concepts to new problems and integration of basic science concepts into clinical problems; PBL enhances intrinsic interest in the subject matter; and PBL appears to enhance self-directed learning skills that endure over time.
- Researchers have found that students generally favor problem based learning classes. They therefore attend classes more regularly and develop better attitudes toward learning.
- Problem based learning students scored higher on the clinically oriented standardized medical exams than students in traditional courses.
- Students in PBL courses are more likely to adopt deep approaches to learning and to become self-directed learners.
- Problem Based Learning has been introduced into education in many professional fields including medicine, nursing, dentistry, social work, computer science, management, engineering and architecture.
Reviews of the effectiveness of problem based learning
References
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- Albanese, M. A. and S. Mitchell (1993). "Problem-based learning: a review of literature on its outcomes and implementation issues." Academic Med 68(1): 52-81.
- Aspy, D.N., Aspy, C.B., and Quimby, P.M. (1993). "What doctors can teach teachers about problem-based learning." Educational Leadership, 50(7), 22-24.
- Barrows, H.S. (1994). Practice-based learning: Problem-based learning applied to medical education. Springfield, IL: Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
- Bernstein, P., Tipping, J., Bercovitz, K., and Skinner, H.A. (1995). "Shifting students and faculty to a PBL curriculum: Attitudes changed and lessons learned." Academic Medicine, 70(3), 245-247.
- Brown, J.S., Collins, A., and Duguid, P. (1989). "Situated cognition and the culture of learning." Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-41.
- Chi, M.T.H., Bassok, M., Lewis, M.W., Reimann, P., and Glaser, R. (1989). "Self-explanations: How students study and use examples in learning to solve problems." Cognitive Science, 13, 145-182. v Schmidt, H.G., Dauphinee, W.D., and Patel, V.L. (1987). "Comparing the effects of problem-based and conventional curricula in an international sample." Journal of Medical Education, 62, 305-315.
- Schmidt, H.G., Norman, G.R., and Boshuizen, H.P.A. (1990). "A cognitive perspective on medical expertise: Theory and implications." Academic Medicine, 65, 611-621.
- Vernon, D.T. and Blake, R.L. (1993). "Does problem-based learning work? A meta-analysis of evaluative research." Acad Med 68(7): 550-63.
- Woods, D.R. (1991) "Issues in Implementation in an Otherwise Conventional Programme" Chapter 12 in "The Challenges of Problem-based Learning" D. Boud and G. Feletti, ed., Kogan Page, London, 122-129.